Gujarat Municipal Election 2021: Over 43,000 cops deployed for 21 Feb civic polls; 1.5 lakh people detained

Ahmedabad**: Over 43,000 police personnel will be deployed for the civic polls in six major cities of Gujarat on 21 February, state Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia said on Friday. Counting of votes for the polls in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar will take place on 23 February. The deployment would include 25,000 personnel from regular units, 15,000 home guards, and 3,000 from the state reserve police force (SRPF), he said. Bhatia said police had, since 23 January when the poll notification was issued, seized liquor worth Rs 8 crore and Rs 1.97 lakh during searches. Since last month, over 48,000 licensed firearms have been temporarily seized from owners, and 1.5 lakh people were placed under preventive detention, the DGP added. In a statement, Bhatia said extra forces would be deployed in sensitive polling booths, adding that 97 checkposts have been created along the state’s borders in view of the polls.**